


Dundee (or The Concretion of Magic)

by GravityCanFly



Series: Cabin Pressure [5]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Cooking, Family, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, SO MUCH FLUFF, Word Games, passengers - Freeform, really really fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-21
Updated: 2013-11-21
Packaged: 2018-01-02 07:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1053917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GravityCanFly/pseuds/GravityCanFly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the kitchen, Douglas is definitely Skip. <br/>A flying geologist, word games, and a romantic gesture.</p>
<p>This is fluffy as hell. She fluff, he fluff, I fluff, we fluff. There is snark and flirtation and domesticity and just plain fluff. </p>
<p>Next in the series, chronological order, etc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dundee (or The Concretion of Magic)

“Alright gentlemen, today we fly - drum roll please - to Dundee.”

“Dundee?”

“Indeed, Dundee. Apparently there’s a university there and they need some more fossils.”

“Why on earth are they flying fossils? They’re hardly perishable, they’ve been sitting in the earth for hundreds of thousands of years.”

“Yes, well, it is not for us to ask questions. It is for us to fly some rocks to Scotland. Then it is for us to collect a geologist and fly him to Portsmouth. Then, thankfully, it is for us to fly back to Fitton and go to bed.”

“Ah, you’ll be joining us then?”

“I shall, yes. I shall be collecting this eminent geologist and presenting him to his conference, a job that cannot be trusted to my son.” Carolyn glanced at Arthur, who was opening and closing one of the filing cabinets with a look of intense concentration. “Hard as he may try.”

-

“Alright then, Geology Book Club.”

“What?”

“Books re-titled to appeal to geologists. The Rock Thief.”

“Oh. Okay, ah…” Martin hesitated, thinking.

“The Lady of the Oxbow Lake.”

“Alright, alright, hang on! Uh…”

“Animal Fjord.”

“Give me a chance! Uh… uh… The… The Glacier of Wrath?”

“Not bad. The Insides of the Earth.”

“What?”

“From The Pillars of the Earth. No?”

“Hm. I suppose. I don’t know it.”

“Oh, it’s one of those books we’re all _meant_ to read and adore. It’s not bad. Very much of its type.”

“Hm. Oh! Anne of Green Grasslands.”

Douglas made a face. “Bit clunky. Alice’s Adventures in Tundra-land.”

There was a pause. Martin eyed the skies. “Looks like rain,” he muttered.

“Is that an answer or are you merely observing that it’s raining, _in Scotland_ , as per the weather report?”

The rain fell thicker and heavier as they flew North into it. “It’s quite a lot of rain.”

“Yes.” Douglas eyed his captain. “Are you happy to land it?”

“What? Yes, yes of course.” Martin said too quickly. “I just wasn’t expecting it to be so wet.”

“I am willing to land it,” Douglas said evenly.

“Do you think I can’t?”

“Not at all, Martin. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

“Yes, I will.”

Martin did, of course, execute a perfectly satisfactory and safe landing. Satisfactory and safe, however, does not necessarily translate into a pleasant experience for the passengers, or indeed the first officer.

“Bloody hell!”

“What?”

“I’m not sure any of my ribs are attached to my spine anymore.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic. It was a perfectly safe landing.”

Carolyn flew into the flight deck. “Was that entirely necessary, Martin?”

“It was a perfectly safe landing!”

“In future,” Carolyn said, “just let Douglas do it.”

“I am the captain!” Martin cried.

“In all fairness, Carolyn, with the amount of water on the runway and the crosswind it was a very tricky landing.” Douglas glanced at Martin and spoke very deliberately. “Martin did a fine job.”

Carolyn raised an incredulous eyebrow. “If you say so.”

-

“Right this way, Professor Graeme,” Carolyn led the distinguished academic through the small airport terminal and to the table where her pilots were steadfastly ignoring her son. “Allow me to introduce you to our pilots, Captain Martin Crieff…”

The professor extended his hand to Douglas, who smiled thinly at it. “First Officer Douglas Richardson, charmed,” he introduced himself, taking the offered hand. “This is the Captain.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Martin smiled, hiding his ire with well-practiced effort.

“And this is my son, our steward, Arthur.”

“Hallo!” Arthur sang, waving.

Professor Graeme laughed. “Very nice to meet you all. I’ve never done this before, it’s a bit exciting, isn’t it?”

Martin and Douglas exchanged glances. They had had much more exciting trips.

“It’s brilliant!” Arthur cried. “You’ll love it. It’s just… it’s just like flying!”

“Imagine,” Douglas muttered drily.

The professor laughed again and clapped Arthur on the shoulder. “Do you know anything about geology, young man?”

Arthur shook his head, and was led away by the academic, listening intently as he spoke.

“Martin, carry the professor’s bags,” Carolyn instructed before scurrying off to lead her son and his new friend to the aircraft. Knowing Arthur, without guidance they would walk round in circles for hours talking about rocks.

“Of course, I’m not the captain or anything,” Martin muttered, stooping to collect the bags.

“You should learn to command more respect.”

“I’m not sure I can _learn_ to grow four inches.”

Douglas laughed. “Do you really think it’s all height? You could always grow a moustache, you seem to find those very intimidating.”

Martin scoffed. “A ginger moustache is less commanding than you might think.”

“You could… dye it?”

“I will not give you the satisfaction.”

-

“A Tale of Two Continents.”

“Oh, very good,” Douglas said warmly. “Love in the Time of Pangaea.”

The flight deck was silent for a moment, save for the sound of the engines. Douglas was adding another book title - ‘The Wind Shadow of Oz’ - when the satcom went.

“Oh wonderful, that’ll be Carolyn’s toyboy again.” Douglas pressed the button to answer the call. “Good morning, MJN Air.”

“Hello Douglas, it’s Herc.”

“Yes, I thought it might be. What would you like us to pass along to Carolyn this time? A quick marriage proposal?”

“Thank you for the offer, but that won’t be necessary. Is Martin with you?”

“I am, yes.” Martin said quickly, before Douglas had a chance to say anything else. “What can I do for you?”

“Ah, good. Now listen boys, Carolyn isn’t speaking to me-”

“Oh no, what have you done now?”

“I haven’t _done_ anything, thank you, Douglas. But nevertheless, she isn’t speaking to me. So, I propose to meet her at the airfield and take her out for a nice meal.”

“Oh yes, she’ll love that.” Sarcasm dripped from Douglas’s words.

“Yes, well, she might actually.” Hercules sniffed. “Anyway, all I need from you is to know what time you will arrive in Fitton this evening.”

“Well, it’s hard to say,” Douglas began, “with the temperament of our flying geologist, the rain…”

“Our current ETA is 1830 hours,” Martin interrupted.

“Thank you, Martin. You’ll give me a call on your return to confirm?”

“Of course, Herc, no problem.” Martin signed off and ended the call.

“ _Oh no problem, Herc_ ,” Douglas mocked.

Martin bristled. “Really, why don’t you like him?”

“Who said I don’t like him? I think he’s _terrific_.”

-

“I’ve got one,” Carolyn announced as she entered the flight deck.

“One what? One coffee?” Douglas asked, eying her.

“Oh, no. Did you want coffee?” Carolyn asked, then said before the pilots could answer: “Never mind. No, I’ve got one. The Lion, the Witch and the Geyser.”

“Yes… That would be a more interesting book.”

“Is that a geyser like a thermal spring or an old cockney geezer?” Martin decided at the last moment not to attempt his ‘cockney geezer’ accent.

“Oh it’s a rubbish game anyway,” Carolyn snapped.

“Are you a little bored back there?”

“Arthur and our professor friend are still in deep discussion. I think he’s telling him about volcanoes now. I shall never hear the end of it.”

“Well, stay up here if you like,” Douglas offered. “Tell us all about what’s going on in your life.”

Martin cast Douglas a warning look. Douglas smirked.

“There’s nothing going on in my life,” said Carolyn at once. “Nothing whatsoever. What is happening in your life, First Officer Douglas?”

“Very little. Certainly I haven’t fallen out with my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Carolyn stood abruptly. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Is this you coming out, Douglas? Congratulations, I must say I always did suspect.” She paused. “I think it’s time I offered our passenger a drink.” She turned on her heel and left.

“Douglas!” Martin hissed. “We said we wouldn’t mention it!”

“Actually, we didn’t. It was merely implied that we shouldn’t.”

-

“Post-landing checks complete, Captain.”

“Thank you…” Martin said, fiddling with his phone. “And text sent to Herc.”

“What does his lordship require us to do now?”

“Just wait for him to reply before we disembark.” The phone beeped in Martin’s hand. “Ah, there it is.” He pushed the intercom button. “Alright Carolyn, all well up here.”

“And do we know what Herc has planned?”

“Nope. Better get out there and see.”

“I’m trembling with excitement.”

The pilots followed Carolyn and Arthur onto the tarmac. There, parked entirely inappropriately beside the plane was Herc’s car. Herc was on his knees, a red rose between his teeth and a bunch of the same in his arms.

“Oh good lord.”

“BRILLIANT!”

“Always the big romantic gestures, Hercules.”

“ _What_ are you doing here?” Carolyn demanded, approaching Hercules rapidly.

“Mm hff mm-” Herc tried to speak around the rose in his mouth. Carolyn snatched it from him. “I’m here to take you for dinner.”

“What if I don’t want to go for dinner?”

“Then I suppose I’ve got my knees all soggy for nothing.”

A hint of a smile began to creep onto Carolyn’s face. “Promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You are not going to propose to me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Herc grinned as Carolyn took the flowers from him. He opened the car door for her and she slid herself gracefully into the seat.

“Oh, Douglas, Martin!” she cried, as Herc started the engine. “Can you take Arthur home with you and feed him?”

“He’s an adult, Carolyn!” Douglas protested.

“Just do it!”

Douglas turned to the bright, grinning face of the steward. “Alright Arthur, back to ours for fish fingers and chips.”

“Really? Brilliant!”

Martin laughed. “No, not really. I can’t imagine Douglas’s freezer has ever seen a fish finger.”

“It may have, once or twice… Helena favoured a fish finger sandwich after a night out and a bottle of wine.”

-

Arthur raced into the house the minute Douglas unlocked the door.

“Shoes off!” Douglas shouted after him as Arthur ran down the hall.

“Sorry Douglas,” Arthur panted, reappearing and kicking off his shoes, having already left wet gritty footprints down the hallway and through the living room.

Douglas sighed. “Well done.” He slipped out of his own shoes and shed his outer layers and tie. He followed Arthur into the kitchen and turned the oven on before sinking into one of the chairs.

“What’s for dinner, Douglas? Can I help?”

Douglas rubbed a hand over his face wearily. “Chicken and vegetables.”

“Great! What can I do?”

Douglas looked at Arthur for a moment. “Take the chicken out of the fridge then. I’ll teach you how to make a marinade.”

“Ooh! What’s marinade?”

“I’ll show you.”

-

Martin hung his uniform carefully, ready for the next day. He slipped into a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt and wandered into the kitchen.

Douglas and Arthur were standing side-by-side, Douglas issuing Arthur with instructions and Arthur following them with excessive care. Martin smiled.

“And now we’ve put all these nice things in with the meat, all their flavours will mix together and the chicken will taste delicious.” Douglas spoke slowly and simply, as if speaking to a child. Martin found himself picturing the scene with a small brown-haired girl in Arthur’s place. “Ideally we’d leave it overnight, but I’d like to eat it fairly soon, so we’ll just wait until the oven is hot, okay? Now lets do the vegetables. Wash these for me.” Douglas handed Arthur a bag of peppers.

“Okay Skip!”

“Hang on!” Martin interrupted. “I’m Skip!”

“Not in the kitchen,” Arthur explained. “In the kitchen, Douglas is definitely Skip.”

Douglas cast Martin a smug grin. “Don’t upset the Captain, Arthur.”

“No, no,” Martin held up his hands, “in your kitchen you can be called whatever you want.”

Douglas raised an eyebrow. “Interesting,” he purred. “I shall bear that in mind.”

**Author's Note:**

> So... next time I post it will be within one month of Christmas. So the Christmas storylines will begin! Bring the pain. And the fluff. And the pain. 
> 
> Kudos, comments, etc are greatly appreciated. They make my little face smile.


End file.
